Dead West
by Stahl
Summary: We've seen what things are like in the Southern part of the United States. What about the West Coast? This is the story of a group of survivors attempting to stay alive during the days following the Apocalyptic Outbreak. Drama, action, comedy, romance, adventure and all those things you love about the original show ensue. Enjoy.
1. Prologue: Part 1

**_Klamath Falls, Oregon  
Zero Day + 5  
_**

Willard Grafton glanced over as his friend cursed in the passenger side of his 1990 Jeep Cherokee and burst out laughing. She had spilled one of the sodas they had all over herself. "Do you have a drinking problem?" Grafton joked, glancing at the road and then back at her.

"Oh fuck you Willard!" Emily shouted angrily while opening the glove-box and pulling out a handful of napkins.

Cody Cox, a longtime friend of Grafton's and Emily's, was in the back of the red four-door laughing the same as Grafton was. Next to Cody sat another friend of Grafton's, James Sheldon. Sheldon was older then the other three by two years, him being twenty one and the rest of them nineteen, but they were still all good friends. The four of them had spent a four day weekend up in the mountain pass between Medford, Oregon and Klamath Falls, Oregon. They hiked out to a secluded area that Grafton's father had shown him years before and camped next to a stream where they fished and just relaxed for the trip.

They were lucky that they had chosen that weekend. Originally it was just going to be Grafton, Emily and Cody but James was able to get leave from the Marines and decided come for the trip. He had a week to spend away from his post. So he decided to spend four of those days with his friends. Grafton was glad. James and him had always been close. Hawks always looked up to James and when James joined the Marines he intended to follow suit.

But Emily changed his mind. Convinced him to stay back, get a degree, hold a job and then decide whether or not it would be the best option. Grafton agreed after literally days of arguing about it and he stayed with her. Cody went to the same community college Grafton did and worked at the same high-class restaurant as waiters while Emily worked as a medical secretary. They scratched out a pretty good living all things considered. "C'mon Emily. Nineteen years and you still can't drink? Gotta open your fuckin' mouth first." James stated nonchalantly.

"Screw you both."

"I'm not into that stuff." Grafton responded with a short chuckle. The radio station, a classic rock one that they all agreed was a good channel, suddenly became static. Grafton glanced down at it, raising an eyebrow in confusion. They were out of the mountains and the signal was clear a minute ago. He tried turning it to another station. Garbled static. "We're almost home anyway." Grafton stated with a shrug of his shoulders. They turned a corner and entered the valley in which Klamath Falls was situated. Grafton slammed on the brakes his jeep bringing it to a standstill and got out, eyes wide in disbelief.

The other three got out of the jeep and joined him in staring on at what sat in front of them. Smoke engulfed the town. Gunfire could be heard. Kingsley Air Base was in flames. It was chaos. Hoards of cars were strewn about the road, some crashed, others abandoned. "What the fuck is going on?" James asked, stating aloud what all of them were thinking.

"Emily, reach under your seat and grab the box." Grafton ordered, panic in his voice. Emily hesitated but moved to do it. She grabbed the box and placed on the hood of the jeep. Grafton opened the box, grabbed the Smith & Wesson .40 caliber he kept for emergencies and loaded the magazine that had sat next to it within the small white box.

Cody stood next to Grafton, both hands running over his short brown hair. "Shit!" He shouted, pointing towards a large ball of flames at the airfield. The fire had reached the jet fuel and was causing a series of nasty explosions. A pickup truck raced by them.

Emily was visibly shaking. "That truck had blood on the front." She said nervously.

"It looks like world war three down there man." James stated.

Grafton turned to James. "I've got another gun in the trunk. It's a .22 revolver in a cigar box. You grab it and we'll head over to dad's farm outside of town. See if he's okay and we'll find out what the fuck's going on out there." He explained while putting a round in the chamber of his handgun.

James emerged from behind the jeep, revolver in hand. He looked uneasy. "Does your dad have guns? Rifles? Something bigger than handguns?" The Marine questioned while he placed the revolver in his sweatshirt pocket. It was August but it still got chilly up in the higher elevations.

Grafton nodded. "Yeah. He's got enough to arm a small army. Bolt-actions mostly. He's got my rifles too." He explained in short before hopping back into the driver's seat of the jeep. Grafton waited for everyone else to climb in before hitting the gas. It only took them three minutes to reach the end of his dad's driveway. He turned onto the dirt road and sped down the half mile stretch of driveway, skidding to stop in front of the two story farmhouse. Grafton hopped out and ran inside. "Dad!" He shouted. No answer. "Dad?"

Nothing. Silence. James walked up next to where Grafton stood in the kitchen. "We can't stay here long. Do you know where he kept the guns?" He asked.

"I... Yeah. Out in the shed. Should be a bunch of carriers with two rifles in each of them. Load them into my dad's Suzuki Samurai out in the garage." Grafton ordered, tossing James the keys. "Grab them, a few tools in case we need them, and we'll go into town. See what the fuck this world's coming to. I'm gonna grab some food and a few thing from upstairs." Grafton stated, setting his pistol down on the dining room table. James jogged outside to the barn while Grafton stayed behind. Grafton left the kitchen and headed upstairs, going for his dad's office. He reached the office door and slowly opened the already cracked door.

Empty. The lights were on, flickering but on nonetheless. The power was about to go. Something at the plant must still have been running. Backup generators or something else. He walked in and looked around. Nothing had been touched. Every book his father collected were on the two bookcases next to the door. Everything on the desk was in the same place. Two desktops and a laptop. The desk chair was pushed in under the desk. He rummaged around the, drawers, looking for anything that would help explain what happened. All he found was a note written by his father.

_Willard,_

_Couldn't reach you on your phone. Me and Ann left for the mountain house on Thursday. We'll be back next Friday. You can stay at the house if you'd like._

_Dad._

Grafton silently thanked them for leaving to the house they had up in the mountains. It would be safe for them up there. Grafton then went to the bookcase and pulled out dad's bible. He reached behind it, grabbed his dad's snub .38 caliber and pocketed it, placing the bible back in its place. They'd need all the guns they could get. Hawks left the office, turning the light off on the way out, and headed back downstairs to the kitchen. He grabbed a box from the pantry closet and opened the kitchen cabinet that contained a good deal of canned food.

He pushed all the cans he could into the first box, set it aside, grabbed another box and emptied the rest of the cabinet into the second box. Grafton opened the miscellaneous junk drawer of the kitchen, grabbed a container of fire-starters and a Swiss army knife. He moved over to the fridge, opened it, but closed it. If they had to leave town taking things that could go bad wasn't too great of an idea. Grafton then threw a roll of paper towels in the second box. He pulled out five one gallon containers of water and gathered them next to the boxed. Satisfied he had all he could fit into his jeep, Grafton grabbed the first box of canned goods and went outside where his three friends sat. "Cody, James, go to the kitchen and grab whatever you can out of the pile. Emily, open the trunk for me." He ordered, walking around to the back of his car.

Cody and James went inside while Emily opened the trunk of his jeep, allowing him to throw the box in next to the camping supplies. He grabbed his large cooler and threw it out of the jeep, making room for the stuff they needed. Grafton rummaged in his pocket, pulled out his dad's .38 and handed it to Emily. "Be careful with it. It's loaded and ready to shoot." He explained before jogging back into the house, stepping aside for James who was carrying the second box of cans and a gallon of water. Cody followed with two containers of water. That left two for Grafton and that would be it. He went inside, pocketed his Smith & Wesson and grabbed the two remaining gallons of water.

After the jeep had been loaded up, the four of them were about to pile in when a woman in camos, probably from the National Guard, charged at them from inside the bar, assault rifle in hand. "Hands up!" She shouted in a stern and hostile tone of voice.

Grafton turned around, ready to pull his handgun up a shoot, when he saw the rifle in her hands. He sighed and slowly raised his hands. "What do you want?" He questioned.

The woman hesitated. "You bit?" She asked. "Hurt, scratched?"

Grafton raised a brow in confusion and glanced over at James who half shrugged his shoulders. "No, we ain't hurt. What do you mean by bit?" Grafton questioned.

"You don't know?"

"If I knew I wouldn't be asking." Grafton responded.

She half-lowered her rifle, hesitating. "Shit. Where have you been? It's been four days since this shit started." She stated. "There's some bad stuff going down. I'm corporal Kattie Dwyer, Nat. Guard." The soldier introduced herself to the four. Everyone lowered their hands when she lowered her rifle.

James spoke up. "I'm James Sheldon, staff sergeant. Marine Corps. We've been in the mountains since Friday. What the hell's going on? Are we being invaded or something?" He asked.

The sergeant frowned. "Sorry, sarge. I wish we were being invaded. It'd be better then this. This is bad. It's like a bad zombie movie out there. People getting bit and turning into stumbling psychos, people looting, panic, riots. Kingsley went up in flames once people started going insane and panicky. Us and the police did all we could to seal off downtown but it was no use. Chompers got through our defenses and spooked everyone. People scrambled. Me and a couple others got ambushed by those biters. We shot them down but... they kept coming. We ran out of ammo and had to make a run for it. Me and another kid, Martinez, made it out. Martinez twisted his ankle and we held up in this barn." Dwyer explained in length.

Grafton paused and reflected on her explanation. "Zombie movie?" He asked.

Dwyer nodded. "Major Wilson called 'em chompers. You get bit by 'em and it's only a matter of time before you're one of them, chomping on other people. They go down easy enough but they just keep coming. You four are lucky you weren't here when it first started. People down there are as good as goners. Best get out of town while you can." She stated.

"Do you guys have a way out of here?" James asked.

She shook her head. "I meant to get a car for me and Martinez to bug out in but I saw you four roll up and I thought maybe I could take yours. But you folks seem too nice for me to be the asshole in this situation." Dwyer said, while lying her rifle down and pulling out a pack of cigarettes. She took one out and lit it with a match.

Cody crouched down, hands on the ground for support. "This can't be happening..." He muttered.

Emily leaned against the car in silence.

Grafton and James both cursed. It was silent for awhile. Dwyer stood, smoking away, assessing the four. Grafton was the first to break the silence. "You could come with us. We've got another car that you could use. If you came with us of course." He stated, pointing over to his dad's garage which sat connected to the house.

"We've been too scared to go outside and take a look around." Dwyer admitted.

Grafton nodded. "I can understand that." He stated.

Dwyer stared at the younger man. "Where are you four going?" She questioned him.

Grafton paused and started thinking about it. "In all honesty, I have no idea. If this really is as bad as you say we need to get out of here now. I know we all want to see our families but we just have to hope and pray they got the fuck out of town in time. We can go back to the creek. Work from there. We've got enough food for a while and as long as we boil the water from the creek we'll be alright for a while." He explained.

"Biggest problem will be weapons." Dwyer stated, arms crossed.

"Willard's dad has a small armory. We've loaded it up into the Samurai. Not much ammo for them though. We've got a couple pistols and revolvers." James explained to her, nodding his head towards Grafton when he said his name.

Grafton placed a hand on his chin in thought. "Do you know anything about the Home Depot side of town?" He asked the soldier.

Dwyer paused and nodded. "Anything south of that place is infested. The Guard couldn't even make a dent in it with our weapons. We sealed the road off into town with a couple humvees, trying to keep them out of the town. Why do you ask?" She counter-questioned, flicking her cigarette to the ground and stomping on it to put it out.

"Parker's gun-store is over there. If we take the highway past Kingsley we can skip going through town, go around, park our car at the community college and a few of us can sneak over there and take what we need. We'll leave Martinez behind here with a few of ours to guard him from these chompers." Hawks explained, formulating a quick plan.

James scoffed. "That place would be wiped clean by now." He stated, arms crossed.

The corporal shook her head. "We had Home Depot as our base of operations yesterday for about six hours, sarge. We had armed guards keeping civilians out of the gun-store for a reason. Once we got pushed back, we kept one eye on it. Nobody got in. We need to move now if we want those weapons." Dwyer explained, picking her rifle up off the ground.

"Good. Then we're agreed." Grafton stated, digging around in his pocket for his set of keys. "Name's Grafton by the way. James and Emily will stay behind here with Martinez. Cody, Dwyer you're with me. Go tell your boy what's happening and we'll move in five." He ordered.

Dwyer nodded and jogged into the barn. James walked over to Grafton and leaned in close to whisper to him. "You think we can trust these two?" He questioned in a hushed voice.

"Why do you think I'm leaving you back here?"

**_Klamath Community College_**  
**_Thirty Minutes Later_**

Grafton motioned for Dwyer and Cody to follow him silently as they crouch jogged alongside the side of the highway. Several cars were crashed into each other, some with bodies inside. Cody threw up when they passed the thing of them but they pushed on. Parker's was half-a-mile away from the community college that Cody and Grafton had both attended. They had gone to Parker's right before their trip and bought fishing rods for the four of them. Grafton stopped the three of them and stared at the scene before him.

What looked to be a man in a tattered business suit was leaning over a soldier, tearing into his stomach. Grafton grimaced while Dwyer simply stared on. Cody looked like he was about to wretch. They moved forward, crouched down silently. They made it past and kept moving, gun-store in sight. Zombies and bodies both littered the highway. Grafton could see where the National Guard had blocked off the road with humvees. Just in front of the gates to the Golden West Motel.

The zombies snarled as the three of them silently went past them but made no attempt to come after them. They were either too preoccupied with their current meals or didn't know they were there. Either way, Grafton was thankful. They reached Parker's and went around the back, as the front was locked by the National Guard after they pulled back, and attempted to get in through the backdoor. They were lucky that the back had been left open and the three of them sneaked inside.

The smell of death hit and drove the three of them out, covering their faces. "Jesus..." Cody muttered as quietly as he could.

Grafton sighed. "You two stay out here. I'm gonna load up on as much ammo as possible. Dwyer you take the front. No shooting until there's no other choice. Don't get spooked." He stated. Dwyer said nothing but made her way around the front. Cody nodded and stood by the door, Grafton's .22 revolver in hand. James had his dad's .38 back at the farm while Emily had nothing. Dwyer of course had her rifle with an extra magazine. Grafton took a deep breath and went back inside. The smell was unbearable but they needed the ammo.

He looked to his left and then to his right. To his left was the main office of the building. The door was left partially ajar. There was nothing but a wall to his right. Grafton opened the ajar door and immediately looked away, covering both his mouth and nose. He had found the source of the smell. A man was laying on the ground with a hole in the back of his head. A pistol was lying next to the body, close to the man's head. Grafton could only assume it was Parker. He simply closed the door and moved on to the rest of the store.

Most of the ammo still sat in the display cases and the rifles up on the wall. Grafton knew he had to go back to the office. He went back, covering his nose, and searched around for the key. He found nothing on the desk or in the drawers. The nineteen year old was about to give up when he found it. It was still around the neck of Parker. Grafton grimaced as he reached down and tore the chain off of the man. He left the office with haste and began opening all the display cases.

Grafton ran back and grabbed Cody. Cody had the two empty duffel bags that Hawks had had in his jeep. He handed one to Grafton and began shoveling ammo into the bag. Grafton did the same. "Don't grab too many guns. We have enough rifles for right now." He explained to Cody in a whisper.

"Right." Cody stated while picking up a box of rifle shells. They didn't even care what caliber. If they picked up a caliber they couldn't use in one of their rifles or handguns it was more than likely they'd find one that would find one eventually. Grafton grabbed a box of 12 gauge shotgun shells and caught eye of a compact shotgun that sat up on a shelf behind the counter. He went around behind the counter, reached for it and snagged it. He pulled it down and examined it. It was a Mossberg Compact Cruiser. 12 gauge shells, pump action and easy to handle. Plain but a good weapon.

Grafton went right back to scooping as much ammo as he could into his duffel. Cody was already loaded up with ammo and had grabbed an AR-15 chambered in .223 rounds. Accurate and steady. Cody didn't know much about rifles in the first place but he had chosen a decent one.

Once Grafton's duffel was full, the two went outside the back again and went around to get Dwyer. She was crouched in front of the store, rifle up and ready in case she needed it. She glanced over, saw that they were good to go and moved over to where they stood. "Too many on the road. Is there a way around?" Dwyer questioned.

Cody nodded. "There's a runner's trail that goes straight past here. Should go all the way to the college." He stated, motioning for the two of them to follow him. While Grafton had always been about upper body workouts, Cody was a runner. He focused on his lower body. He was smaller then others but fast. He knew every jogging path in Klamath, official or not, like the back of his hand.

Grafton and Dwyer struggled to keep up with Cody but they both managed. They made it back to the college in what felt like record time to Grafton and loaded up the jeep with the duffel bags of weapons. Right as they were about to pile into the jeep the worst happened.

Dwyer was climbing into the jeep when she was pulled back by one of those things. She screamed, causing Grafton and Cody to turn and look on in horror. They froze up. The zombie was gnawing on her shoulder, tearing large chunks of flesh out of her. Grafton went for his gun but she pulled free and beat the horrid creature to death with the butt of her assault rifle. Dwyer panted and sunk to her knees. "Fuck me.." She muttered aloud in disbelief.

Grafton kicked the tire of his jeep in frustration. Cody ran a hand through his hair. "We... We can fix this." Grafton muttered, causing Dwyer to turn her head towards him.

"Yeah right, hotshot. The only fix is a bullet in my head. Which is exactly what's gonna happen." Dwyer stated, pulling her dog tags from around her neck. She tossed them to Grafton, who caught them in turn. She then handed over her rifle. "Get Martinez and the others out of town. Don't come back. Stay secluded and be careful out there." The corporal ordered. Dwyer placed her helmet on the ground next to her. She then pulled her sidearm free from its holster. "Good luck out there. I saved this one for me." The soldier put the gun against her temple. Grafton lunged at her but it was too late. She pulled the trigger and blood sprayed against the side of the jeep.

"Fuck!" Grafton and Cody shouted almost simultaneously. They heard snarls and footsteps closing in on them. Grafton hesitated and stared at Dwyer's body. He reached down, grabbed her helmet and he got inside of the jeep anyways. The drive back to the farm was in silence. They had been successful but had lost somebody along the way. Grafton had a feeling it wouldn't be their first loss.

When they got back to the farm they found James struggling with a zombie while another approached him. Grafton hopped out, grabbed Dwyer's rifle and fired at the one that was getting to James. James pushed the zombie back so Grafton could get a shot on him. He fired once and hit the zombie in the shoulder. He fired again and got him in the head.

James bent over and panted. "Thanks. It's gotten busy since you left. I ran out of ammo awhile ago and have been fighting these things with a pitchfork. This one got the drop on me and made me drop the fork." The Marine explained.

"Did you get bit?" Grafton questioned, worried for his friend.

"Nah, almost but I'm good. Emily and Martinez are fine. Where's Dwyer?"

Grafton bowed and shook his head. Cody let out an audible sigh. "We got the ammo. We got back to the jeep and one got behind her. She took care of it herself. Bring out Martinez and Emily. We need to discuss our next move." He stated.

James nodded, turned to go back into the barn but paused before doing so. "How bad is it?" He asked. Grafton stayed silent. "That good, huh?" James went into the barn without another word. It was going to be a long day.


	2. Prologue: Part 2

**_Klamath Falls, Oregon  
Zero Day + 5  
_**

"I'm sorry, Martinez. There was nothing we could do." Willard Grafton explained with his head slightly bowed. The group of five were gathered around Grafton's Comanche, ready to discuss their plans. He had just finished explaining to Martinez how Dwyer perished only forty minutes ago.

Martinez shook his head. "No, it's alright. I understand. Shit happens, honcho. She's not the first friend I've lost in the last five days. She's just the latest. Let's just get the fuck out of here as soon as we can. I'd rather be on the road than here." The soldier explained. He was wearing a desert-pattern camo Kevlar helmet, his desert-pattern fatigues and boots and a blood splattered National Guard grey shirt. It looked as if the base had been caught off guard and hastened into action. Private first class Aaron Martinez looked as if he had been lounging when this first started and hadn't gotten a minute of rest since. Bags hung under the young soldier's eyes.

Grafton nodded solemnly. "I understand. I didn't know her long but she was a good person." He paused and looked around at his group. Somehow he had ended up electing himself leader of the group. Nobody had protested so Grafton would continue. He pulled one of the maps of Oregon he had had in his glovebox and laid it out on the hood of the black jeep. "We need to find a place to hole up, call our own. Seems like that would be the first order of business. We need to get the fuck out of here. To many highways feed into this town. Too many people will be coming through. I can't trust that all of them will be friendly people. There's one place in particular." Grafton stated, dragging his finger west, pointing to a place north of Boise, Idaho. "Lime, Oregon. Used to be a tiny town built around a cement plant. Abandoned now. Only thing still standing is the plant and a few buildings that have been abandoned for decades. Two miles from the highway, secluded, plenty of structures we can use for watchtowers." He trailed off and glanced up to get the others' response.

James spoke up first. "We've got weapons and ammo. It'll go fast but we've got it nonetheless. Food and water will be a problem. It's really close to Boise but far enough away that we shouldn't get bugged too much." He paused. "Yeah I'm in." The marine stated simply, crossing his arms across his chest.

"Does the plant have a fence around it?" Martinez asked.

Grafton shook his head. "Nah. One of the downsides. But we can definitely set a perimeter up. There's a small town nearby, Huntington, that has a Tractor Supply store. We could grab some of those wire fences. They're strong. My concern will be putting in the posts. That would make a lot of noise. But it's definitely possible. Again, it's abandoned. Closest cities are Baker City and Boise. Enough small towns around to keep us alive for quite awhile. If we ever have to move we can do it." He answered in length.

Martinez paused before hesitantly nodding his head to the idea.

Cody simply shrugged his shoulders and nodded. "What do I have to lose? I've stuck with you for the last seven years, what's one more adventure gonna do to me?" He joked, strapping his AR-15 across his back.

That left one vote. Emily. Grafton knew he was going to have to answer a lot of questions and reassure her about it but he was ready. "What roads will we take?" Came the first question.

"We'll take US-395 and the US-20. We'll have to go back through town but the only other way would be to go on 97 and drive through Bend. Bad idea." Grafton responded.

"What will we do if it's not abandoned?"

Grafton paused and hesitated answering this one. "I'll take it. One way or another. This group comes first. Everyone else is a stranger and a danger to me and my own. Don't like it, don't care. You can stick with me or go your own way. You come with me I can't be responsible for your safety. You die, I move on. I will mourn for you but I have to keep the ones who are alive moving." This time he was talking to the entire group. He meant every word he said. Emily simply nodded her head and leaned against the side of his jeep. "Alright. Then it's settled. James, Cody my dad should have a couple military fuel cans in the garage. If they're full load them onto my dad's Suzuki. If they're not he should have a full around back. Just fill them up from that. We'll need as many as we can get. Emily would you rather use a pistol or rifle?" Grafton turned to his closest friend.

James and Cody headed to the garage while the other three stayed behind to discuss things. "I'm better with a pistol." Emily stated simply. "But I can use a rifle." She added to her statement.

Grafton went around to the trunk of his jeep, opened one of the duffel bags and pulled out a pistol and a box of ammo. "It's a .22. Easy to shoot and it holds a lot of bullets. Not to mention we've got plenty of .22 rounds." He stated, handing the pistol to her. "Martinez-"

"You can just call me Aaron bossman." Martinez interrupted.

Grafton nodded. "Alright, Aaron. Grab whatever you want and meet me inside the house. There's a couple things I need to get. Why don't you stay back here and make sure we've got all the basics, Em. You find something missing holler. We'll grab it." He stated while Martinez picked out an unscoped bolt-action rifle. "Let's go on in." Grafton ordered, his compact shotgun in hand. The two walked up the steps of the screen porch and entered his dad's farmhouse once again. Grafton led Martinez into the den and pointed to a desk pushed up against the far wall. "Search that desk for anything useful. Maps, knives, anything useful. I'm gonna head upstairs and grab my dad's handheld CB's." He stated, referring to his father's two handheld CB radios that he kept in case something ever happened. Something did indeed happen.

The unofficial leader of the group quickly moved up the stairs and headed into his father's officer/study. Grafton grabbed the handheld's and an extra set of batteries for when the first ones died. He moved to leave the room but paused when his dad's bookshelves caught his eye. They'd need something to keep them occupied. He pocketed the handhelds, strapped his shotgun across his back and grabbed as many books as he could, including two about basic survival in the woods. Grafton then carefully walked back down the stairs and met up with Martinez.

"I found a compass and two maps. Idaho and Washington." Martinez reported to Grafton.

Grafton set the stack of ten or so books down. "I got the handhelds and some reading material to help pass the time. Give me what you found and go check it out. Pick out a few books you like. It's going to be a long apocalypse." He explained, only half-joking.

Martinez nodded his head, handed over the compass and maps and headed upstairs. Grafton grabbed the compass, maps, the stack of books and headed back outside where Emily was going through what they had in the back of the jeep. Grafton nodded to her and set the stack of books in the backseat. "Anything missing?" He questioned her.

She nodded. "Yeah. Mostly luxury crap. Toilet paper, toothpaste and brushes, so on, so forth. Nothing major as far as I can tell. Food and water's a little low but nothing we can do about that right now. Toilet paper is my biggest complaint." Emily explained to Grafton who nodded his head attentively.

"Alright. I'll grab toilet paper but are you sure we have everything essential for survival?" Grafton questioned her again.

Emily pointed as she listed off what they had. "Food, water, guns, ammo, matches... Clothes. We need more clothes." She reported to him.

Grafton chuckled. "Go figure, takes a girl to figure out we need more clothes." He joked, earning a punch in the arm from Emily. "I'll go grab that stuff and we'll get our asses in gear." He stated, walking back inside of the house just as Martinez left with another stack of books, this one consisting of mostly sci-fi and action novels, topped off with his father's bible. They nodded to each other as they passed and Grafton headed towards the house's bathroom. He pushed the wooden door open, stepped inside and looked around for the toilet paper. He grabbed the roll that was set next to the toilet and opened the bathroom closet, grabbing a pack of twenty four rolls. Grafton took them outside and handed them to Emily. "Load them up into the Suzuki." He ordered. He paused and turned his head slightly, listening carefully. Grafton could hear it. A car speeding down a road. Nearby. "Car!" He shouted, causing everyone to drop what they were doing a come back to the jeep.

He narrowed his eyes and pointed at a pickup truck bouncing down the dirt road that led to the gravel driveway of his father's farm. He watched, waiting for it to turn. It did just that. Grafton grabbed his shotgun from his back and got down behind the jeep, motioning for the others to do the same. They did so and waited as the truck pulled up in front of the house, parking close to Grafton's jeep. He heard four doors open and two men talking to each other. "You think this place has food, Thomas?" One asked.

"Hell if I know, Ben. I don't think the folks who lived here made it out though. Their car's all loaded up but still here in the driveway. Watch for dead." The other answered in a warning tone of voice.

Another voice entered the conversation, this one female. "I hate looting. I know it's how we survive now but it really does suck." She bantered.

Grafton decided now was a good time to jump up. "Hands up!" He shouted, spring up from his concealment, aiming his shotgun at the strangers. James, Cody and Martinez sprung up seconds after, their weapons at the ready. Emily followed closely, aiming her pistol at the strangers. One of the men went for a pistol but stopped when he saw how many guns were pointing at him.

"Alright, we don't want no trouble now." The older one stated. He was Thomas. He wore what looked to be police riot gear, minus a helmet. Instead he had a square black cap on.

Next to him stood a soldier in full camos and helmet alongside an assault rifle. Behind them was the girl. She had a red checkered shirt and black jeans on, alongside a pair of brown hiking boots. Martinez lowered his rifle when he saw the soldier in camos. "Benny? That you?" He questioned with a raised eyebrow.

"Aaron!" The soldier shouted enthusiastically.

Grafton decided to lower his shotgun when he saw that these two knew each other. Martinez and Ben ran up, shared a handshake and a swift pat on their backs. The police officer hung back, still suspicious of most of the group. "Who are you?" Grafton asked no one in particular.

Ben answered first. "Benjamin Blake. Private first class in the Nat' Guard, sir." He introduced himself officially.

"Sheriff's deputy Thomas Hill." The older officer stated. He looked to be in his early forty's and a huskier man, built larger than Grafton himself, who was larger than all in his group. "Klamath police department." Hill added with a slight nod.

The young girl stepped from behind the officer. "Samantha Lee. College kid." The young girl supplied with a cheesy grin. She had a pistol and holster wrapped around her waist.

Grafton nodded. "Any of you guys bit?" He asked next.

Hill shook his head. "No, suh. We had a boy who got bit. I put him down. Goddamn shame, it was. Yes, suh, he was a good kid." He stated, bowing his head slightly.

"As long as you three aren't bit, I'm fine with you being here. Though if you expected to loot this house, I'd move on. This is my dad's house and I ain't letting it go so easy." Grafton explained with a defiant nod of his head.

Hill paused and half-smiled. "You're Alex's boy? I knew your dad, son. That means you must be Ed." The sheriff's deputy stated.

Grafton shook his head. "Nah, I'm the other one. Willard. Ed was deployed again last month." He explained.

"Ah, sorry. I thought he was still around. Where's your dad? He didn't turn, did he?"

"No. He's up in the mountains right now. He should be safe if he stays up there. We were just about to head out ourselves. Finishing up grabbing some things." Grafton stated, tossing his shotgun into the trunk of his jeep and closing it. There was no more room for anything so anything else they'd load up would have to be into the Suzuki.

Hill shared a glance with Samantha, who nodded in response. "Willard, we'd like to come around." The sheriff's deputy said to Grafton.

Martinez entered the conversation. "I thought that'd be a no brainer. We need a couple more people anyway. And Ben's a good shot." He explained, throwing in his two cents of the conversation.

Emily and Cody both nodded at the idea. James simply shrugged his shoulders. "I deter to you, Will. I figure my time in the marines is done and I never was much of a leader." He stated while laying his rifle in the backseat of the jeep where he'd be sitting on the way to the cement plant in Lime.

Grafton scratched the back of his head, measuring the many pros against the fewer cons. "Fine. But you pull your own fuckin' weight. You got a problem with a decision I make too bad. Get over it or leave. Nothing's a voting matter. What I say goes. Unless someone else wants to step up and give it a try?" He paused and turned to each person there. No one said anything. A couple of them shook their heads. "Good. Then let's finish loading up. Is all the fuel loaded up yet?" He asked Cody.

Cody shook his head. "Almost but not quite. We got three canisters strapped onto the Samurai, three full ones we were about to load onto and two empty ones." He reported.

"Ben, you go with James and Cody here. I want to be out of here as soon as physically possible. Miss Samantha. Emily here needs a couple things from the house. If you wouldn't mind helping her it'd be appreciated." Grafton stated, giving them their jobs. "Hill, Aaron. You guys come with me. We need tools out of the shed around back. Shovels, sledgehammers, whatever. We need it. So let's get going." He stated before walking around to the back of the house.

Grafton hated bring in strangers but Hill knew his dad and Ben was a soldier who knew Martinez. That was enough for him to at least crack the door for them. He swore he wouldn't let it happen so easily next time. Friendly survivors or not, he didn't care. More people meant more mouths to feed and more danger. Eight seemed like a solid number though. Things were going good, all things considered. For now, at least, Grafton was thankful.


End file.
